Over a year ago, my husband decided he was going to build me something for Christmas of 2011. At least I think it was supposed to be a Christmas present… maybe it was to be a birthday present? I don’t remember anymore it’s been so long, but, I digress; I learned months into the project that it would be a dresser.

Wednesday evening on the ride home, DH declared that he had completed the dresser and as I was working out, he would be bringing it into the house, but I wasn’t allowed to look at it until it was installed and wonderful. It was damn hot and working out with the door shut to the office/fitness room was torturous, but I endured. He was nervous and hopeful that I’d enjoy what he built. Friends and family who had seen the “work in progress” (I was not allowed to venture to that part of the woodshop so I stayed out pretty much altogether) reported back that it was “very cool” and that I was “really going to like it”.

DH is very handy and he’s built quite a lot of furniture in our house (I’ll have to build a page just to showcase his handiwork), and while some of his older projects are functional albeit not exactly aesthetically pleasing, they do serve a purpose. DH’s project this time is functional and artistic. Not only that, but I venture to guess that it is utterly unique and there isn’t another person on the planet that has what I now have standing in my bedroom (according to DH, his searches for anything similar came up empty).

This project took a long time. DH couldn’t find plans for anything close to what he had envisioned so there was much time spent making jigs to make the various parts needed. The wood used is maple. Most of the maple came from a Norway Maple we had in the backyard of a previous home that had to come down; DH had milled it and dried it to use for woodworking. The staining (clear stain – which is what most of the furniture in our house is to allow the beauty of the wood to come through) and finishing took over three hours alone. I don’t think DH kept track of how many hours he’d worked on the project.

So, that said, please enjoy the images of my very unique, hand-crafted and made especially for me: Fluted Column Dresser!

12 Responses to My belated Christmas present

Thank You! He’s one really talented guy! I will have to showcase more of his projects to share with the world, though I have warned him that if people see his handiwork they may want to buy what he makes!

I think if DH could make enough to survive on doing woodworking full time, he’d consider it, but he’s said he fears it would turn into “work” instead of something he enjoys. And… I told him people would like the dresser as much as I do!

Ohhhh, I’m glad my elder stepdaughter hasn’t seen this. She’d definitely want one.
And unlikely your husband, I’ve never been good with woodworking (much less metal). I hate to think what our photos of the finished project would look like.
You are very lucky, indeed. But please remember, any household construction project (including furniture) is going to take three times as long as one planned and cost three times as much. You’re oh-so-lucky to get this before next Christmas.

He’s a good man, that Charlie Brown! I’m still getting used to the way the drawers open and where I put things in them. I do have some semblance of order. I started with putting items that go on top (bras) in the top drawers and worked my way down to socks. In the very bottom I put the seldom used stuff like the fishnets and pasties. I can remember THAT stuff with no problem.

I just showed your hubby’s handy work to my husband. He also does woodworking, in our house only. So from one visionary to another he says…”you really need to be good to do anything rounded with wood” and “it looks like it blends right into their decor…very nice with a lot of thought went into that piece.”